Herb Step Garden

Herbs - take 10

I've been trying to grow herbs

since 2009

Then again in 2010

&

once again in 2011

So, this time, I'm going all out

I have the standard herbs

rosemary, lavender, oregano, thyme,

basil, sage, dill, parsley

I also got a lemon tree...

(isn't that baby lemon adorable?)

and...

...creeping spinach

(please, no comments about the dead eucalyptus plant)

Also, you may have noticed my fancy herb markers

Got this idea from Pinterest

I just bought cheap knives at the thrift store

some acrylic paints

and

a silver sharpie

but I found that it works better with

a black archival pen

Herb-icide

Here are my herbs a couple of weeks ago

so pretty ...

So not only have I been so busy

I've been neglecting my blog

but...

look at my poor tricolor sage, mint and thyme

Obviously, this is not the correct location for these particular herbs

(front of the house where I never go)

 The sage, chives and oregano are doing well on this side of the house

(Probably because I have to walk by them every day)

Check out the basil, dill and tarragon

so vibrantly green!

I'm not a total herb killer !

I promise

pay more attention to anything

I plant in the front of the house

and..

I promise to do better at blogging...

Life is too exciting for me to be quiet !

Ode to Herbs

Ok, if you have followed me for any length of time

You have seen several of my attempts at growing herbs

Here is my latest venture...

 Basil - Tarragon - Dill

Tri-color Sage - Candy Mint - Thyme

Sage - Chives - Oregano

My Latest Herb Project

Dallas Farmers Market

I bought these herbs (basil, rosemary and thyme) from my favorite herb lady

@  Dallas Farmers Market

Remember last year when I started trying to grow herbs?

Click here to track my progress

Basically, I'm starting over

Sage is the only herb that survived!

I Never Promised You a Herb Garden

Almost a year ago, in June as a matter of fact, I started a herb garden

Click here  to read about it

This is what has survived

Sage and Chives

Not bad for my first attempt

In May, I plan to start fresh

Herbal Experiment - Day 93

Basil as of  October 7th. It's doing ok, but I've had to baby it alot.

This picture was taken on Sept 30th.

This picture was taken on October 7th. 

Sage and chives are doing FANTASTIC.   Basil is limping along. I think I am salvaging the big pot, but the small pot from seeds that was doing so well - see the last posting on August 28 - isn't doing so great.

Herb Garden Update

The sage and basil are growing like crazy. To see the previous herb garden post, click here

Herbal Experiment - Day 46

The last update on the Herbal Experiment was on June 25th. Since then I have lost the thyme. ***sigh***

The basil from farmers market seems to be hanging in there. It got a little wilty last week, but it is springing back. It started to bud flowers which is a good sign. Per the instructions that I googled, you are supposed to remove the flowers, so I did.

This picture was taken a week ago on 7/16.

Wilting with flowers.

This picture was taken this morning, 7/23. It's looking alot better.
Of course, this pot also had thyme and parsley. The parsley is gone, but the thyme is still there but barely hanging on. Next time, I will not plant thyme with basil. I think I might plant the thyme in the ground.

So, in this pot I originally planted seeds from a buzzy seeds kit. I planted cilantro, chives, parsley, marjoram, basil and thyme. The only thing still alive is the basil. It started wilting last week , but it came back.

Here are the sage, lavender and chives I bought at Farmers Market. The sage is doing good. The lavender and chives are surviving but haven't made much progress since I planted them 46 days ago.

Project Herb Garden

Sage, Chives, and Lavender are hanging in there. The sage actually looks better than this picture portrays. It's not all yellow..

Basil, Italian Parsley and Thyme... hmmm... and now "fungi"..what do you do with that?

The Buzzyseed pot - Basil and Thyme are doing great. Cilantro is dead... you can see the dead leaves on the right hand side of this picture.

Poor poor Cilantro... I was going to re-pot it for better drainage, but I think it's too late.

Overall, I think my project is going pretty well considering that I started it in the summer, and we have had consistently 99 degree days for like 3 weeks now.

I feel bad for the Cilantro, but I have heard it is a very hard herb to grow so I will re-visit Cilantro in the Fall or next Spring.

The "Herbal" Experiment

I think I've mentioned in the past, that I do not have a "green thumb". I am hoping that this is something that can be "learned" and isn't just an innate ability that some have and some don't. I've tried to grow herbs before, but admittedly, didn't investigate how to actually do it. I just bought a pot, some potting soil, and had absolutely no clue. So, this time I "googled". I learned that "drainage" and "location, location, location" are key to the success of growing herbs.

I bought these at Dallas Farmers Market.

One stand was selling them 3 for $5.00. I bought cilantro, thyme, basil, chives, italian parsley, and sage. I bought lavender at another stand for $2.00.

Here's where it gets a little interesting. I had forgotten that a friend had given me this "Buzzy
Seeds Herb Ceramic Pot" kit . It comes with 6 packets of seeds - cilantro, marjoram, curly parsley, chives, sweet basil, and thyme. So, I will be conducting a test to see what survives.. the potted plants or can I really grow herbs from seeds?

Because I do not have alot of faith that I will actually be able to pull this off, I bought the cheapest plastic plant containers at Walmart I could find. This is a 10 inch pot with built in drainage. I bought two for $6.00 each. I had visions of gorgeous herbs in a big galvanized bucket that I could just "clip" herbs for the fabulous dishes I'm cooking like I'm Barefoot Contessa. I have to keep these alive, then I can invest money in my glamorous schemes.. and even, dare I dream, my own herb garden in the back yard. But I'm getting way way ahead of myself. Focus...

Again, a little overwhelmed at Walmart. Almost left the store with something that was only filler and not potting mix. Shew.. that would have been frustrating. Then, it was a decision between this and Miracle Grow. The Potting Mix won because it was a dollar cheaper, and I could plant both pots with one bag. Again, until I learn how to be a gardener, I'm keeping my investment low. Even the gloves were only .97 cents.

So, not the "vision" I've always had in my head, but they are planted. I know the Buzzy Seeds pot looks funny with the plastic labels sticking out, but how else am I going to remember what seeds I planted?


The official experiment has begun. Will I be able to keep the herbs from Farmers Market alive? Will I be able to actually GROW herbs from seeds? Well, stay tuned.. I will keep you posted.